Ottawa, March 20th, 2014 – Speed Skating Canada (SSC) is pleased to announce that Patrick Godbout will be its new Communications and Media Relations Manager effective Tuesday, April 1st.

Based in Montreal, Godbout will be responsible for the development, execution and daily management of Speed Skating Canada’s national internal and external communications strategy, as well as all public relations, including matters related to the short and long track national teams. He will also act as press attaché for the national teams. He will be taking on a supervisory role, working closely with Jeff MacKinnon, SSC’s Media Relations and Communications Coordinator in Calgary. He will also be tasked with managing the web and social media strategy.

As of Tuesday, April 1st, Patrick Godbout can be reached by e-mail at pgodbout@speedskating.ca or by phone at 514-213-9897. Marie-Annick L’Allier will complete her interim contract as of March 28th.

Working as Communications manager at Synchro Canada since 2009, Godbout was also a press attaché at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as well as 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara. At these events, he worked with athletes from many sports, including synchronized swimming, equestrian, squash, water-polo, shooting, modern pentathlon, swimming, bobsleigh, luge, skeleton, cross-country skiing, free-style skiing and ski-cross. He was previously Manager of Communications and Media Relations with Diving Canada. He also gained media experience as a journalist, desk manager and sports section editor for Montreal’s Journal Métro.

“Speed Skating Canada is thrilled that Patrick Godbout will be joining our team”, shared Ian Moss, Speed Skating Canada’s Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that his varied international experience, his creativity and his ideas will contribute to Speed Skating Canada’s future success. On behalf of everyone here, I would like to welcome him.”

“I am extremely pleased to join a team as professional and devoted as Speed Skating Canada’s”, declared Godbout. “Speed skating has a tradition of excellence and is an integral part of Canada’s sporting history. Their success demonstrates the quality of the athletes and programs, coaches, officials, volunteers and administrators. I am very proud to be a part of such a prestigious organization and I am very excited to contribute to its further success.”